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WIKILEAKS: PRC
diplomats ‘unhappy’ with Ma’s truce
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff Reporter
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Timothy Yang talks to reporters in Taipei on Aug. 12.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Leaked US cables show that China’s
diplomatic service was “unhappy” with what was interpreted as Chinese President
Hu Jintao’s (胡錦濤) “tacit acceptance” of the “diplomatic truce” strategy
advocated by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
When he assumed the presidency on May 20, 2008, Ma sought a “diplomatic truce”
to end a longstanding tug-of-war with China in which both countries tried to
poach each other’s diplomatic allies by offering large sums of foreign aid.
A number of leaked US cables released by WikiLeaks suggest that Chinese
officials in charge of diplomatic affairs and Taiwan affairs have been divided
on the issue.
A cable dated Jan. 16, 2009, from the US embassy in Beijing quoted Jin Canrong
(金燦榮), a professor at Renmin University, saying that “the MFA [Ministry of
Foreign Affairs] is still opposed to the ceasefire, in part because it means
‘fewer ambassadorships’ will be available to MFA career diplomats.”
“Jin claimed the MFA is particularly unhappy because five countries that
currently recognize Taiwan are willing to switch their recognition to the PRC
[People’s Republic of China], but the MFA has been forced to give up this
‘achievement’ because of pressure from the TAO [Taiwan Affairs Office] to
observe the ‘diplomatic ceasefire,’” the cable said.
Jin said the “ceasefire” would hold as long as “Hu continues to side with the
TAO” over the MFA, the cable said.
The same cable made a mention of a fifth point addressed by Hu in his speech
delivered on Dec. 31, 2009, marking the then-30th anniversary of the “New Year’s
Message to Taiwan Compatriots” that stated “avoiding internal strife in external
affairs is conducive to furthering the overall interests of the Chinese nation.”
The statement was interpreted by Chinese academics as Hu’s “tacit acceptance” of
Ma’s “diplomatic truce” strategy, the cable said.
Zhou Zhihuai (周志懷), Secretary-General of the National Society of Taiwan Studies
(NSTS), was quoted in the cable as telling the US embassy that “Hu could not
formally mention the ‘diplomatic ceasefire’ because it implies the existence of
two countries.”
The cable quoted unidentified US experts, who met with Ma on Jan. 13 that year,
as saying that “Ma said this phrase and Hu’s endorsement of a ‘comprehensive
economic cooperation agreement’ were the two positive responses from Hu to Ma’s
proposals.”
Meanwhile, in another cable dated Aug. 20, 2008, Zhou “commented that the PRC is
observing a diplomatic truce, but admitted the issue is divisive in Chinese
policymaking circles” as he described to US officials “three political fault
lines in the Chinese Government’s internal debate over the diplomatic truce.”
“The first is an institutional dispute between the MFA, which wants to score
more diplomatic allies, and the TAO, which wants to avoid inflaming public
opinion in Taiwan by orchestrating humiliating diplomatic defections. The second
division is along age lines, with older cadres wanting to keep the diplomatic
battle going and younger ones less inclined to fight for the last few small
states. Lastly, a difference of opinion exists between scholars who are in favor
of the truce and some older government officials, who tend to be more cautious,”
Zhou was quoted as saying in the cable.
Another cable originating from the American Institute in Taiwan dated Sept. 21,
2009, quoted Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) as saying that “it
was not clear that PRC diplomats had responded to President Ma’s ‘diplomatic
truce’ by being less aggressive in efforts to isolate Taiwan.”
“One possible explanation, Yang said, was that PRC diplomats overseas had not
yet been given instructions on how to deal with their Taiwan counterparts.
Certainly, he noted, the PRC Foreign Ministry was notoriously conservative on
Taiwan issues. Finally, it was possible that instances of apparent ill-will by
PRC diplomats reflected individual actions, rather than a coordinated MFA
effort,” the cable said.
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